The Cryptic Truth
by Rookie14
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki is a single boy in a large village. With little knowledge of his past, and parentage. He will eventually come to seek the truth. As he grows up in this ninja village questions will arise, and answers won't come so easily. And who exactly is this little blond girl everyone seems to hate? Smartish-Naruto! Non-Jinchuuriki-Naruto! Naruto is two years older than in Canon!
1. Chapter 1

The Cryptic Truth

CH 1

Enter: A Legitimate Uzumaki

"Naruto" - Person Talking

'_Naruto_' - Person Thinking

"**Naruto**" - Summons/Biju talking

"_**Naruto**_" - Summons/Biju thinking

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu**" - Jutsu

(Author's Note)

**FLASHBACK NO JUTSU**

**\\./**

The early morning sun's rays shun into a loud-blustring classroom. The room was completely lit, but even that being said. A part of the room seemed darker than the rest. To those who looked upon the spot of darkness could tell the darkness didn't come from the lack of light. It was the vibe that came off the youngest child in the room. This darkness didn't come from grasps of evil created by things such as hatred and revenge. It came from the darkness created by solitude and utter loneliness.

This boy had bright blond hair, that was held up by a konoha headband. His eyes were a bright violet. His attire consisted of a high colored black shirt with long sleeves. On the right sleeve of his shirt was a small orange swirl, while on his left sleeve was a red konoha emblem. His pants were a darker shade of grey, making his pants look almost black. A kunai pouch was strapped on the backside of his waist, while a black shuriken holster was strapped to his right leg. The boy also wore the standard black ninja sandals.

The boy looked normal enough...except you could clearly see the age difference between him, and the rest of the class. The boy was seven years old, while the rest of his class was five years older than him.

This boy's name was Naruto Uzumaki. According to the Sandaime the very last legitimate Uzumaki in Konoha. Yes, there was other Uzumaki's in the Hidden Leaf Village, but all of them were simply orphans who did not carry a last name previously. Though in one aspect Naruto was no different from the rest of them. He too was also an orphan, practically unaware of his parentage besides knowing that one of them were an Uzumaki.

Naruto was currently sitting in the very back of the room in the right hand corner. Some believed he sat in the very back because he was quite the reserved child. Though to the eyes of a shinobi it simply backed up his label as genius or even prodigious child. A shinobi always wants to keep his opponent in front of them, and never allow an enemy behind their back. By sitting in the very back, Naruto never had to worry of anyone sneaking up behind him. As well by sitting in the right hand corner, he had a complete view of anyone in or entering the classroom. Whether they entered through the door or even the window, Naruto would spot them all.

Naruto glanced around the room, quickly spotting cheerfulness among his peers. Almost everyone was part of some group….except for Naruto. Naruto let out a frown, and his shoulders slumped down as he recognized this small detail. It wasn't that Naruto was antisocial or unfriendly. Quite the opposite Naruto tended to be friendly to everyone he met, regardless if they were friend or foe. Yet, this didn't matter to the kids of Naruto's class. They thought poorly of Naruto simply because they were jealous of his skill. Not only had Naruto managed to graduate in two years, but he graduated in the top 5 of his class.

Naruto took a deep breath, and slowly released his breath. He hated it….complete solitude. He had no one to go home to, and even here at school he had no friends to chat with. He had only been in this class for 6 months, and he absolutely hated it. Scratch that. His sensei wasn't too bad, but she hardly ever paid too much attention to him. Since, Naruto usually grasped things quite quickly. She hardly ever needed to help him, and she would shift her focus to the kids who struggled to master whatever concept they were covering. Speaking of the devil, the very same instructor had walked into the room.

She wore the usual Konoha attire with a Chunin flak jacket. She had long untamed black hair, and red eyes with an additional ring in them. She also wore make up consisting of a red lipstick and purple eye shadow. Her name was Kurenai Yūhi.

Naruto watched as she quietly moved to the middle front of the classroom. She walked briskly, and observed everyone in the classroom. Naruto watched as a smile crept on her smile. She was obviously proud of having everyone in the classroom pass.

Kurenai reached the middle front of the classroom, and called for everyone's attention, "Boys and Girls!"

The response was almost instantaneous. Gossiping among the girls, and boasting from the boys completely stopped. Everyone separated from their little groups, and moved into their seats. All the brand-new genin in the room sat up nice and tall, showing the respect they all held for Kurenai-sensei. Even Naruto had straightened up, fixing the slump in his shoulders.

Kurenai let out a smile, "I'd like to congratulate you all for officially becoming genin today. You may believe your time of learning ends now, but that couldn't be anymore wrong…."

Naruto rolled his eyes, and quickly redirected his attention to the window. Even though he held some respect for Kurenai-sensei, didn't mean he liked her boring lectures. He pushed everything Kurenai said to the back of his head. That was until he heard the call of his name, "Team 5: Naruto Uzumaki, Ken Kotetsu, Akane Akiyama."

The blood nearly drained from his Naruto's head. All at once emotions of frustration and anger swelled up in Naruto, "_Of all people why did it have to be those two…."_

Naruto looked at Ken Kotetsu, and could see the same expression on his face, "_Ken Kotetsu son of a wealthy business owner in town….if not the most arrogant kid to come out of the academy!"_

Naruto closed his eyes in frustration, as he quietly remembered all the times he was looked down upon by Ken. Naruto turned his head to the other member, and met the glaring eyes of Akane. While Akane was probably one of the most talented kunoichi's in his class, she thought poorly of Naruto.

Naruto let out a small wince as he slammed his head into his desk, "_Damn it…."_

"Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto's eyes lit up at the call of his name. Slowly lifting his head, he met the eyes of Kurenai. Kurenai had her hands on her hips, similar to a mother scolding their child. Naruto hid his anger, and gave her a neutral look, "What?"

Kurenai sighed at the disrespect, "Why did you make all that ruckus, while I'm calling out squads? 

Naruto innocently shrug his shoulders, and responded in a childish voice, "I dunno...I slipped and my head slammed into my desk."

Kurenai sweat dropped, and the rest of the class laughed at the stupid response. Kurenai sighed in defeat, "Fine, but refrain yourself from _slipping_, and don't make anymore noise!"

"Sure thing Kurenai-_sensei!_" responded Naruto with a taunting smile.

Kurenai merely shook her head, and continued with the last couple of teams on her list. As she continued Naruto was quickly brought back to his thoughts, "_Great….I hope we can at least work well together, but I doubt that…."_

Naruto brought his attention to Kurenai, who was giving her final say, "Alright everyone! Your Jounin senseis will be coming to pick you up in any minute!"

Naruto let out a big sigh, "_I have a bad feeling about this…."_

**\\./**

The sun slowly sank into the horizon, and the sun's rays shimmered through the darkening sky. Naruto sat silently on the head of the Sandaime on the Hokage Mountain. He stared at the headband in his hand. Completely ignoring the beautiful sunset ahead of him. For a moment he held a loose grip on his headband, but out of nowhere he clenched it with all his might. His knuckles turned a pale white, and the veins in his hand popped out slightly.

Naruto begun to shake his head, as if he was in denial. Then he begun to whisper to the wind, "Damn you….Ken….Akane."

Naruto slowly brought his headband to his head, and clenched both his fists. Without a seconds thought, he closed his eyes and thought quietly to himself, "_If only those two idiots had listened to me….it was so obvious….that damn test."_

Naruto opened his eyes slowly, and looked up at the sunset. The sun had sunk even deeper into the horizon, and it's rays glimmered even brighter. Naruto merely gazed at the sun set, as his thoughts ran crazy.

Naruto, Akane, and Ken had failed their Jounin's test….miserably. The two bells….two lunches….only two will move on. Naruto had seen right through that test, but his two older comrades had been too arrogant to listen to them. They had instead teamed up to take the two bells, and make sure he wouldn't passed. Of course the end result had been….failure. All three of them had failed, and they would be thrown into the reserves. They would know be labeled as non-grads.

Naruto's hand with his headband tightened up again. Anger ran through his veins as he thought about all the hard work he had put into his ninja career. His ninja career was everything he had...it was his dream to one day become the Hokage.

Naruto's head twisted from the sunset, and his gaze settled onto the village. If he decided to abandon the village that very moment…..no one would care. In this village he had no family, and no friends. He had seen the attention the Hokage had received, and that was the attention he thrived for. He wouldn't settle for the 15 minutes of fame pranksters would receive, he wanted that genuine respect that the Hokage received from everyone. That was his goal...he believed if he could find that respect. Then he could find the answer to his loneliness.

Yet….how could he achieve that goal now? The Hokage weren't non-grads, they were all elites. Naruto believed that this label would hinder his ability to go up ranks, as reserves usually had a difficult road to becoming a successful ninja.

Naruto's sadden eyes suddenly hardened. His gaze had turned into pure determination, "_I-I can do this. It doesn't matter if I have to go to the reserves for another year….I will become a shinobi, and I will become Hokage."_

Naruto took a deep breath, as reality suddenly crashed onto him, "_B-but can I really make it?"_

Naruto brought his knees to his chest, and hid his head into his knees. As Naruto rested in the calming position. The sun had finally drowned into the horizon, and a blanket of darkness engulfed the sky night.

**\\./**

An aged man sat in a desk cluttered with papers, scrolls, and books. He wore a red, full-length kimono that was tied with a white sash. He wore a white haori, and customized red hat with a white triangle in it's front. In that small section was the symbol for man sat in his seat, with signs of exhaustion in his held a small pipe in his mouth, and he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.

In his hand was a file, and it was labeled: Naruto Uzumaki. The man rubbed his temples, and looked up at the man in front of hi. The man in front of him was probably in his early 50's, while the man sitting at the desk was in his early 60's "What of young Naruto? Has he been causing problems in the reserve?"

The man shook his head, quickly dismissing that idea, 'Of course not Lord Hokage. In contrary, that boy has grown at staggering rates! For only being in there for six months, and being the youngest of all the reserves. He's clearly the top reserve we have." 

The Third Hokage took another puff from his pipe, and rose an eyebrow, "Is that so, Ryou?"

The man named Ryou nodded his head, "Yes, I found it so strange that a child of his skill would be sent to me. I thought it was because he was so young, but that was not the case."

Ryou pulled out another file, and set it onto Hiruzen's desk, "I was looking at his former sensei's file on his former team, and I found a couple of things. First I found out that Naruto had seen through the test's hidden objective, but he failed to convince his teammates otherwise. The jounin in charge of his team suggested it was because of his age. That Naruto's other teammates rejected the idea of cooperating with him. Thus the end result being him failing the test with his two other teammates."

The Hokage looked down at the file,and his gaze lingered on it. He quickly looked up at Ryou, "I know….why have you brought this to my attention?"

"I think you should pull him from the reserves, and start rotating him into odd numbered teams." replied Ryou.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, "This is very unlike of you Ryou. I mean you usually come to me to make a request for keeping a student a bit longer than the standard year. Now you want me to make Naruto an official genin, even though he's only been through the system for six months?"

Ryou nodded his head, and he gave the Hokage a sheepish smile, "I know this is unlike of me, but I think it would be the wisest decision."

Ryou scratched his chin a bit, "How do I place this….he's kind of wasting his time in the reserves. He's a very ambitious child, and I'm running out of things to teach him. Of course things that would be suited to teach a reserve."

Hiruzen eyed Ryou for a second, and he looked down at Naruto, "I understand where your coming from, but there must be a deeper reason for wanting him to jump into an official team."

Ryou took a deep sigh,and look nervously around, "Don't try to play stupid with me Hiruzen."

The Third was slightly taken back, by the tone of Ryou's voice as he continued, "We both know exactly who his parents are. The Village might be too ignorant to realize it, but for Kami's sake. I was his mother's jounin-sensei."

Ryou paused for a second to catch a glimpse of the Hokage's serious posture. "What I'm trying to say is that he's starting to show signs of possessing the same ability as Kushina Uzumaki. His sensor ability his ridiculously high for his age, and his chakra….its so dense. It's no wonder he mastered all those academy techniques in two years! It won't be too long until _other_ _people_ begun to notice too."

Hiruzen eyes narrowed, and he leaned into his desk. He placed his elbow onto his desk, and he clamped his hands together, "I understand your concern, but I still don't see it as problem. He's only seven, it would do him some good to spend an extra year in the Reserves."

Ryou shook his head, "I told you already, this boy….he's very ambitious. Do you want to know what his dream is?"

Hiruzen suddenly let a small smile creep onto his face, "What is it?"

"He wants to be Hokage, and he's determined to do it as quickly as possible." replied Ryou as he sat back into his desk, "A child is much like their parents aren't they?"

Hiruzen let out a large smile, "Yes, they are...aren't they?"

Hiruzen suddenly stood from his desk, and he moved to his window. His gaze wandered over the village, until they finally landed on the Hokage Mountain. His eyes were glued on the Fourth and final head. "Yeah...kids are much like their parents."

Not moving a muscle, the Sandaime asked Ryou, "I wanted to give that boy a normal childhood, but….his family was unfortunate to be struck with so much his parents...then…"

The Third Hokage turned around, and faced Ryou, "I will trust your judgement Ryou, but if you are to be wrong….you know the consequences.'

Ryou nodded, "I will take full responsibility."

"Good, tell young Naruto to come to my office tomorrow." replied the Sandaime.

Ryou nodded, "Thank you sir."

**\\./**

Naruto ran through the village vigorously. The sun had just risen, and its early morning rays shone brightly. Naruto raced to the Hokage tower with a smile on his face.

Ryou-sensei had just told Naruto to report to the Hokage, and to not even think of returning. This had brought Naruto to two possible outcomes. He would either be dropped from the program, or he was going to officially be made a genin. Naruto expected the latter, since he had really excelled in the reserves.

In the inside of Naruto's mind he was exploding with excitement, "_It seems these past 6 months had really paid off!"_

Naruto happily race to the Hokage Tower.

**\\./**

A young boy kneeled on one knee in front of the Hokage. The boy had jet black hair, and onyx eyes. Under his eyes were long tear-troughs, that were clearly his most distinguishable feature. His hair was rather long for a boy, and it almost reached his neck. Two long bangs hanged over his forehead protector.

The Third Hokage stood in front of the young boy, and took a puff from his pipe, "Itachi….you may stand there is no need for you to kneel." 

Itachi nodded, and quickly stood up, "What is it that you need, Lord Hokage?"

The Third Hokage gave Itachi a smile, "I just got word, that your father had put in an application for you to join my ANBU."

Itachi nodded acknowledging the fact, "That is true, Lord Hokage, but I do believed that the application process was long. Is th-"

Third Hokage let out a laugh, "Your pretty sharp, Itachi. Usual applications usually take up to six to twelve months to be accepted. So the answer to your question is no, this meeting isn't exactly about your entry into ANBU. I just wanted to get your thoughts about it."

Itachi looked at the Third Hokage quite impressed, and answered his question, " Even though it was my father who turned in the application, I do wish to join ANBU. I think it would be a great experience for my ninja career, and a great way to serve my village."

Hiruzen took a long drag from his pipe, "Is that so?...For someone entering ANBU at your age is unheard of…."

Hiruzen watched as a small glimmer of disappointment flashed on Itachi's face, "...But you may be the very first one. I also used to believe that there wouldn't be another shinobi with the potential as you too."

Itachi looked up at the Third Hokage, "Until….?"

The Third Hokage pulled out a file from underneath his kimono, and handed it to Itachi, "The boy's name is Naruto Uzumaki, and he technically managed to graduate from the academy at the age of 7, but his team failed to fully graduate into an actual Genin Team."

Hiruzen paused, and gave Itachi a moment to keep up with all the information, "Long story short he was sent into the Reserves, but he's been very impressive. Only six months in, and the head of the Reserves wants me to make him an official genin. The only problem is that I have no open genin teams…"

Hiruzen allowed his last sentence to linger in the air. Itachi looked up from the file, and uneasily asked, "Do you want me to take him as an apprentice of sorts?..."

Hiruzen shook his head, "Not necessarily, I want you to be his mentor. You might be joining ANBU soon, so it won't be permanent."

Itachi rose an eyebrow, "But what exactly am I suppose to mentor? How far are my limitations? Are there any-"

Hiruzen shook his head, "You'll be accompanying him on missions, and helping him get used to things. You may teach whatever you deem is necessary for missions, I'll trust your judgement. If you would like to teach him further things, do as you like. This...will be your assignment, see it as a test into ANBU if you lack the motivation."

Itachi shook his head, "I have no trouble mentoring this boy, Sandaime. But why me?"

"I told you, you two are alike. You both graduated from the academy at a young age, and…" Hiruzen attempted to put his next words in the nicest way possible, "He doesn't have many friends….I'm sure you know what thats like. When you attempt to go up the ranks quickly, friendship can be hard to attain."

Itachi nodded, "I understand sir."

Itachi looked down at the file with much interest in his eyes, "_So, he's suppose to be a lot like me? He's even labeled as a genius."_

Out of nowhere the door to the room flung open. It slammed into the wall behind it, and a young blond stumbled into the room. He was breathing hard, and his hands were on his knees. Sweat was pouring down his forehead, and he looked like he had been training or something. He suddenly looked up, and his eyes blinked, "Uh….sorry I must have the wrong room. Old Man can you tell me where the Hokage's office is?" 

Itachi eyed every little detail of the blond, and he sweatdropped, "_He's suppose to be like me?"_

The Third Hokage let out a chuckle, "You must be, Naruto. You're in the right place, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widen in terror, and he bowed down, "Forgive me Lord Hokage….its just the last time I saw you….your hair was still brown." 

The Third Hokage gave Naruto a big smile, "I still had brown hair? That must of been a while ago, Naruto."

The Third Hokage brought his fist to his mouth, and cleared his throat. "Do you know why I've called you today, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at the Third Hokage, and then over to Itachi, "I have an idea, but...why is he here? Did I interrupt a meeting?"

The Third shook his head, "Don't worry about that, son. This here is Itachi Uchiha. Itachi, this is Naruto, the boy I was talking about."

Itachi nodded, and offered his hand to Naruto, "Its nice to meet you, Uzumaki."

Naruto nodded, "Likewise, Itachi."

Finishing their greetings, the Third continued to talk. While Itachi and Naruto listened to what he had to say, "Ryou-sensei, has brought it to my attention that you done incredibly well at the Reserves, Naruto."

Naruto let out a grin, taking pride in his work.

The Sandaime continued, "He believes, that you are worthy of becoming a genin right now…."

Naruto's grin grew bigger and bigger, until into transformed into a smile. Then the Third dropped the bomb, "...But I believe it would be better for you to remain in the Reserve for the rest of your time."

The smile was wiped off Naruto's face and instead replaced with disappointment. Naruto's gaze fell to the ground, and he remained frozen. Itachi didn't react, but he was curious to what the Sandaime was trying to get to.

The Third looked at Naruto's reaction, and he continued, "In fact I believe you should wait a couple years. If you're much older it might make your time as a ninja much easier. We don't want something like the incident with your old genin team to occur again. Do we?"

The Third took a drag from his pipe, and looked at an unresponsive Naruto, "I'm going to give you two options….two paths…. I can let you continue your time at the reserve, or…."

Naruto looked down at his feet, "_Damn it…."_

"or, I can give you a much harder path and let you become genin. But you w-"

Naruto eyes lit up with determination, "I want the latter! I want that option." 

The Third looked at Naruto with a stern face, "Allow me to finish. If you take the second option, it will be a very long and tough path. You will be looked down upon from your comrades because of your age. And there is nothing I can do about it. I suggest you take the former. Not only will your grow older, but you will gain some experience in the reserves. Its obviously the easier optio-"

Naruto had enough. All his emotions boiled up, and pointed a finger at the Third, "Listen here Old Man, I don't want the easier path. Maybe...Maybe I want to learn to take the harder one! I want the second option."

The Third Hokage gave Naruto a curious look, "Then allow me to ask, why? Why take the harder path, when the easier path will take you to the same place? To become a genin right?"

Naruto clenched his fists, "I know you are the Hokage….but who are you to say the second option is the harder one? Someone must have the courage to walk down it to check! And I'll be that one to do it! I said I want the second option!"

The Third Hokage let out a smile, and then a small laugh. Naruto clenched his fists even tighter, "What are you laughing at?!"

The Third didn't answer his question, but repeated Naruto's words, "Someone must have the courage to walk down it to check...huh? And you are determined to be the one?"

Naruto nodded his head vigorously, "Yes!"

The Third gave Naruto a hard look, and then glanced over at Itachi. Itachi gave the Third a slight nod, and the Third looked at Naruto, "You are now officially a genin of the leaf, Naruto. Itachi here will be your mentor for the time being. He will show you around."

Itachi was about to respond, when Naruto was in his face, "So, what do we learn first Itachi-sensei!" 

Itachi was a bit taken back, and he looked confused for a moment. He then poked Naruto in the forehead causing him to fall back a bit, "First, I'm not your sensei. As the Sandaime said, I'm just your mentor. Second, we will continue this conversation at a different location. I'm sure the Third is busy right now." 

Itachi was about to look up to the Third, when Naruto grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room, " I got it, Itachi-senpai! No time to waste then! Lets get going! See you Old Man Hokage!"

Itachi taken off guard once again, was quickly dragged out of the room. The Third chuckled as he looked Naruto drag Itachi off.

The Third looked down at the spot, where those two had stood, "_Not only do I want Itachi to mentor Naruto, but I was hoping those two could form some type of friendship. I guess time will only tell." _

Naruto dragged Itachi down the hall, and Itachi finally managed to catch his train of thought, "Naruto! Stop!" 

Naruto turned around to face Itachi, "What is it, Itachi-senpai?"

"BAM!"

Naruto turned around, and noticed he had bumped into a younger girl. The girl had long blond hair that was tied into a ponytail, and bright blue eyes. She had three glaring whiskers on each cheek. She wore a yellow kimono style dress, with matching yellow sandals. Naruto looked down at the girl, "I'm so sorry! Here let me help you up."

The girl look at Naruto a bit confused, and let out a big smile, "Its okay! I wasn't looking where I was running either. I was just trying to get to the Old Man's office."

In one of the most rarest of occasions, Itachi let out a frustrated sigh, "Naruto, I told you to stop. Look what happened!"

Naruto glared at Itachi, "Calm down, Itachi. It was an accident. Right little girl?"

The so called little girl kicked Naruto in the shin, "I'm not little! or little girl! My names Mina Uzumaki!"

Naruto and Itachi watched as the little girl just ran off. Itachi looked at Naruto, "You're pretty smooth with the ladies."

Naruto didn't respond to Itachi's joke, and looked at the girl, "_Why….did that girl seem so familiar? Even though I've never met her before?"_

**\\./**

**A FEW NOTES**

**Ages: **

**Itachi: 11**

**Naruto: 7**

**Mina and rest of her generation (a.k.a Rookie Nine):5**

**Here are a few things concerning Itachi. Even though he's seen in the manga and anime as a serious guy, who hardly jokes around or show any emotion. When he was younger he did show a bit more emotion, and I'm sure he joked around here and there. In Kakashi's ANBU filler arc, he was shocked at Gai's prowess in Taijutsu alone. So, I'm not necessarily trying to change his character. **

**So, did you enjoy this story? This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time. A story where Naruto isn't the Jinchuuriki, and he managed to live a somewhat normal life as an orphan. **

**What did you like about the story? Are there any elements I should include in it?  
**

**FAVORITE, FOLLOW, AND REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

The Cryptic Truth

CH 2 Revelations

"Naruto" - Person Talking

'_Naruto_' - Person Thinking

"**Naruto**" - Summons/Biju talking

"_**Naruto**_" - Summons/Biju thinking

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu**" - Jutsu

(Author's Note)

**FLASHBACK NO JUTSU**

**\\./**

Two kunai's slammed into the branch of a tree. The bark on the tree exploded off from the force of the kunai, and blew off in all directions. A piece of paper was tied to the kunai, and it waved around like a flag. Then all at once the paper exploded. A split second before a shadow leaped away from the tree, and managed to avoid the deadly explosion.

The shadow landed in the middle of a clearing. His eyes glowed red as he looked all around, and then he turned around and blocked a barrage of kunai. All of a sudden a blond haired kid ran from behind, with a kunai in hand, ready to strike him down. But before the boy could even get a chance to strike with his kunai, he was forced to jump to the side. He rolled onto the ground, and he suddenly looked up. Had he ventured any further he would've walked right into his own trap of springed kunai. Naruto gritted his teeth, as he thought of the only logical answer, "_Genjutsu?"_

"I'm surprised you managed to see through that sensory abilities are quite fantastic. "

Naruto tilted his head around, and stared at the other boy's feet, "_Damn….I walked right into my own trap."_

"That sharingan is very annoying, Itachi. Making me walk into my own trap." replied Naruto with vigor in his voice. He slowly stood up, and made sure to avoid his gaze.

Then Naruto gave a taunting smile, "But, I won't fall for the same trick twice."

Naruto put the kunai in front of him, and readied himself for Itachi. Then before he could properly register what was going on, he felt the cold metal of a kunai pressed against his throat. Naruto felt all the oxygen leave his body, and his heart race even faster. Then he heard the emotionless tone of Itachi reply to his taunt, "Of course you won't because it only took me once to trick you."

Naruto felt the kunai lifted from his neck, and he quickly dropped to his knees. He quickly sucked in a lot of oxygen, and let out short bursts of heavy breathing. He then looked behind his shoulder, and stared Itachi in the eye. His sharingan was no longer activated, but Naruto still felt the need to look away.

"This is so unfair, you're sharingan puts you on a whole different level." complained Naruto as he looked away.

"And you're massive chakra reserves aren't? Unlike I you can abuse jutsus like the Shunshin jutsu because of your massive chakra reserves. In fact the only other person that can use the shunshin better than you is my cousin Shisui. But it took him years to get to his level, and you can use the technique that puts even some jounin to shame." replied Itachi.

Naruto growled, as he turned around. He then fell back onto his back, and begun to talk as he stared at the sky, "But your sharingan is way better. No matter how traps, jutsus, and how fast I am I still can't even nick you with my kunai."

"That's because I'm a chunin, and you're only a genin. It may only be one rank, but the difference is enormous." replied Itachi as he lectured Naruto, "And don't think that my sharingan is invincible. Every jutsu has its weakness, you just have to be wise enough to find it."

"Ughh!" growled Naruto as he placed his hand into his hair, "I know that senpai, but it's been three weeks, and I still can't find yours!"

Itachi took a deep sigh, and looked down at the young blond. Ever since he'd begun mentoring the kid, Naruto had made it his personal goal to surpass Itachi. Once Naruto had found out the similarities between them, he had marked him as rival number one. Itachi didn't really mind it, but it was always annoying when he began to pout. Itachi closed his eyes, and then thought for a brief second. Then he moved his mouth to speak, "Be a bit more realistic Naruto. You can't really expect to surpass me in just three weeks. I've been a ninja for 4 years, Naruto. You still got a long way to go."

The seven year old looked up at the sky, and he took a quick glimpse of the sun. His eyes burned as he looked at the blinding light, and he quickly looked away. But for some reason he felt the urge to look again. He knew he would only feel pain if he looked at the sun, but the beauty of it was enough for him to look again. This time he extended his arm out, and imagined himself grasping it. To him the sun was like his goal, it seemed like it was close but realistically it was very far away. Then all of a sudden he felt Itachi grabbed his hand. Naruto frowned, and then realized that Itachi must of thought he was asking to help him up. With Itachi's help, Naruto pulled himself up. "Will we be taking a mission today?

"No, let's take a break today." replied Itachi as he looked up at the sky, "In fact I promised Shisui I would meet up with him for lunch. Want to tag along?"

Naruto growled at the name. Shisui Uchiha, a.k.a rival number two. The one jutsu Naruto had trained extremely hard during his time of the reserves was the Shunshin jutsu. One reason he had taken the class by storm was because of his superior speed. His ability to perform the shunshin jutsu was what made him a standout. The problem with the shunshin jutsu was that moment of distorting feeling the instant before and after the use of the jutsu. For some odd reason Naruto had the natural reflexes to perform under those conditions. The second problem with the shunshin jutsu was the tax of chakra it took. Once again Naruto's enormous chakra reserves compensated for it. Not to mention Naruto's chakra control was beyond average. During the his time at the reserves he took great pride of his use of the jutsu, and even after meeting Itachi. But all that pride was shattered the moment he met Shunshin no Shisui. The man was not only better at its use, but he had created his own version of it!

Naruto suddenly nodded his head, "Oh yeah! I haven't seen Shisui in a while!"

"You've only met him once." muttered Itachi, as he looked back at the young genin. The edges of his lips narrowed down, creating a slight frown. He knew exactly what Naruto thought of Shisui, and he also knew how Shisui would encourage Naruto's behavior for mere entertainment. Yup...this was going to be a pain.

"Exactly! I need to keep in touch with my rivals if I'm to beat them!" Replied Naruto with confidence and determination.

Itachi let out a sigh. The only thing he and Naruto had in common was their ingenuity in the shinobi arts. Besides that they were totally polar opposites. Naruto was loud, impulsive, and sometimes didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. Itachi was more quiet, controlled, and always knew what to say. But for some reason they still managed to get along well. Itachi would admit that the boy was beginning to grow on him.

"Let's go." replied Itachi as he turned around, and begun to walk off the training field. Naruto frowned at Itachi, and jogged after him.

**\\./**

"Shisui Uchiha, I challenge you!"

"Huh?" replied a man with dark spiky man had a broad nose and well-defined eyelashes, that were turned upwards at each end. The man wore a standard konoha-nin uniform.

The man moved instantly, and extended his hand into the empty air. Then all of a sudden he clamped his hand down, and caught Naruto's hand. Naruto's eyes widen in shock as he felt Shisui's tight grip on his fist

"_What? He caught me in the middle of a shunshin!" _Shouted Naruto in his head.

Then all at once Naruto felt himself flipped into the air, and slammed into the ground. His side crashed into the ground and he felt his arm pulled straight up. Before he could even register anything, he felt a knee slam into his face and his arm slightly twisted to the side. He grunted as he felt pain shoot through his whole body, "I was expecting Itachi to come along, but I didn't know he was going to bring his little minion."

"I'm not his minion!" uttered Naruto as his face was still under Shisui's knee. "I'm his subordinate!"

"Same difference."

"That doesn't even make sense! Same and difference are antonyms. You can't possibl-"

Shisui looked down at Naruto in utter annoyance, "God you're just like Itachi. You have to be literal about every little thing. "

"Shisui please refrain from injuring him too much."

Shisui let out a small smile, and instantly let go of Naruto. Naruto rolled away from Shisui, and quickly got onto his knees. He glared at Shisui with much intensity, and Shisui just returned a smile. Naruto placed his left hand onto his right arm. His grip tightened as he stared at Shisui's smile, "Why are you smiling!"

"It's just too easy to tease you, Naruto." replied Shisui. Itachi walked up behind Shisui, and placed his hand onto his shoulder. Naruto perked up as he watched Itachi come up from behind. Shisui turned his head around, and looked back at Itachi.

"It seems your little brat is as battle hungry as ever, Itachi." said Shisui. Itachi looks at Shisui, and then to Naruto who is fuming over being called a little brat.

Itachi replied to Shisui's comment, "He won't be so battle hungry if you didn't antagonize him every time you met him."

Shisui took Itachi's comment in stride, and merely replied with a cheesy smile, "You caught me."

Naruto suddenly stood up, and took a look around. He hadn't noticed it earlier, but he realized that they weren't too far away from the Hokage's tower. People passed them left and right, probably used to the sight of shinobi arguing in the streets.

"So, where do you want to go eat, Shisui?"

"What's this? You're letting me pick this time?"

Naruto stopped gazing around the village, and turned around to face Shisui and Itachi. "I heard there's a popular ramen shop around here."

Both Itachi and Shisui stopped talking, and both considered the thought. Shisui suddenly gave a small nod, and spoke, "Ramen? That sounds pretty good right now."

**\\./**

Itachi, Naruto, and Shisui sat at a small ramen shop called Ichiraku's Ramen. They sat in stools at a counter. Their heads were hidden from the outside,by the white flap that was located at the entrance of the small shop. The three konoha shinobi all sat there quietly waiting for their order to be served.

"So, Naruto how's your wind manipulation training going?" asked Shisui. His head was rested against his palm.

Naruto looked over to Shisui, and let out a sigh, "I completed the leaf cutting exercise in my time in the reserves, but I've made little progress actually using it in battle."

"He can cast wind jutsu, but his arsenal is limited of course. What he's trying to do is to stream chakra through his weapons much like the shinobi in the Hidden Sand Village." Spoke Itachi as he butted into the conversation.

Shisui brought his head off his palm, and looked at Naruto. "Streaming wind chakra? That's at least a chunin level technique. Not to offend, but he is only seven. Does he even have chakra to pull something like that off?"

"Don't worry about his chakra, his chakra levels are higher than yours and mine combined." Responded Itachi.

Naruto gave a smile, and nodded, "I guess I do have you beat in one area, Shisui."

Itachi shook his head, and Shisui gave Naruto an entertained look. Shisui didn't respond to Naruto's comment, and spoke again, "I'm pretty good at streaming chakra so I'm going to tell you exactly how I do it."

Naruto watched as Shisui grabbed a chopstick from a small circular container of chopsticks. He gripped the lone chopstick in his hand. He then looked up at Naruto, "First you must gather your wind chakra, or in my case my fire chakra into one point of your weapon."

"In order to stream your chakra, you need to guide the chakra you have collected into your hand through your weapon. There are many ways to do this, but I will show you my way."

Naruto watched as Shisui placed both his index and middle finger on the palm that held the chopstick. Then slowly he slid his fingers across his palm, and then across the chop stick. His fingers moved slowly across the chopstick, and a small trail of fire begun to appear over the area that was touched by his fingers. Then very quickly he slid his fingers off the chopsticks, and the whole thing become a blaze.

Naruto stared at Shisui's technique in awe, and nearly screamed, "That's brilliant….that's such an ingenious way of doing it!"

"Huh? You understood what I did by only looking at it once?" asked Shisui in mild surprise. Itachi gave a smirk, and then looked at Naruto.

"_Of course he did, that's what makes Naruto so unique. He never misses a single detail." _thought Itachi as he stared at the blond ninja.

"Hey no ninjutsu in my restaurant!"

Shisui quickly extinguished his fire, and sheeply looked behind the counter. An aged man with brown hair looked down at Shusui. The man squinted as he stared down the young man. He wore a white robe with a matching white hat that read "Ichiraku". Shisui gave him a chuckle, "Sorry about that Teuchi sir."

The man named Teuchi just shook his head in slight annoyance, and returned Shisui's chuckle, "Youngsters these days…..That fire jutsu of yours was pretty impressive, but I really wouldn't know much about that."

Naruto and Itachi both looked at the man with a bit of curiosity. They both knew that lighting up a jutsu in any restaurant can easily get you kicked out, and were quite surprised at the man's generosity of not kicking them out.

"Shisui you idiot, you almost got us kicked out." muttered Naruto under his breath. A tick mark appeared on Shisui's head, and then he slammed his fist on Naruto's head.

Shisui growled, "The demonstration was for you blondie."

"Urg! Don't hit me and don't call me blondie! Lady eyes." replied Naruto as he rubbed the top of his head.

"Lady eyes?" repeated Shisui as his eyes twitched furiously. Itachi merely sighed as he looked at both his subordinate and best friend, "_Two peas in a pod."_

"Dad! I've got the extr-," The voice that had shouted out had suddenly stopped. Then the same voice shouted again, "Its you!"

The three ninja's all tilted their head once again to the behind the counter. A young brown haired girl, dressed in the same outfit as Teuchi, stared at Naruto in shock. Naruto eyes narrowed, and he looked at the brown haired girl.

"Do….I know you?" asked Naruto with slight hesitation. Not seeming to remember the girl from anywhere.

The brown haired girl shook her head, and then replied, "Not really, but I remember you from my time at the academy! You were like that super prodigy that only lasted a day in my class before you were promoted to the next grade!"

Naruto gave the girl a cheesy smile, and he rubbed the back of his head, "Super prodigy? You're too kind."

Itachi gave a slight smirk, "Not much of a prodigy if he can't even get a scratch on me."

The brown haired girl looked over at Itachi with mild surprise. Shisui's face turned red, and could barely hold back the laughter from erupting. Naruto clenched his fists, and then closed his eyes shut.

Naruto's voice was suddenly filled with a deadly tone, "Itachi…."

"Ramen's ready!"

Three bowls of hot miso ramen were placed in front of the shinobi. The broth in each bowl swished slightly, and a bit of broth poured onto the table. The bowl of ramen gave off a delicious smell, as stars filled in Naruto's eyes.

"Th...This smells amazing!" stuttered Naruto as he smelled the bowl of ramen.

Shisui pulled out some chopsticks, and looked at the food with a similar look as Naruto. Then he muttered, "Now this is a meal."

Itachi looked over at Naruto and Shisui before pulling out his own chopsticks. He quietly reached for his bowl, and begun to eat his bowl with much delicacy.

The brown haired girl looked at the trio of Shinobi with an odd expression, then she gave a small giggle. The three leaf ninja who had been busy eating their meals looked up at the girl. Naruto bluntly asked, "What's so funny?"

The girl shook her head, and slowly made her way for the back of the shop. Then she said, "It's nothing….you guys are just so different from one another, it's funny to see how such an odd group gets along."

Naruto and Shisui cringed at the label of odd group, while Itachi gave an almost unnoticeable twitch. The brown haired girl looked over at the trio, "The name's Ayame Ichiraku, I hope you enjoy your meals!"

That was the last they heard as she disappeared around the corner. Naruto looked at the spot with an annoyed face. "Ayame….where have I heard that name before?"

"She said she was in your class remember….Oh Super Prodigy." replied Shisui with much emphasis on the name Super Prodigy.

At that exact moment, the flaps of the shop flung open. A dark haired man walked into the shop. He wore a custom konoha jacket that revealed that he was part of the Uchiha Military Police. The man looked at both Shisui and Itachi, and he suddenly stood up straight, "Shisui! Itachi! Lord Fugaku would like to see you immediately."

Naruto watched as Itachi and Shisui both exchanged a quick glance. Then instantly they stood up, and looked at the Uchiha policeman.

"We'll be there immediately." replied Itachi. Shisui looked back down at Naruto and gave him a sorrowful smile.

"We'll have to do this some other time, Naruto." spoke Shisui with a bit of nervousness in his voice.

Naruto was put on edge by both of Itachi's and Shisui's sudden change in behavior. Not wanting to alarm them, he ignored it and put it at the back of his mind. "Don't sweat it, see ya tomorrow Itachi-senpai?"

"Yeah, same time as always." replied Itachi with the same monotone as always. Then they were gone. Naruto looked at the spot they had been standing, and sighed.

"What the hell was that about?" thought Naruto. Scratching the side of his head, he twirled around in his chair. He turned to his bowl of ramen, and nearly screamed as he came face to face with a blond haired girl. The girl had long blond hair that was tied into a ponytail, and bright blue eyes. She had three glaring whiskers on each cheek. She wore a yellow kimono style dress, with matching yellow sandals.

The girl was perched up on the table, and was crouching right over his bowl. It made it look like she was peeing into his bowl. Then all of a sudden Naruto looked her in the face. The three whisker marks…

"It's you! What do you want little girl?" asked Naruto as he slammed his hand into the girl's face. He then pushed her off the table, onto the chair beside him. The girl growled as she scrambled to stand up, and glared at Naruto.

"Stupid blond! I already told you once my name was Mina Uzumaki!" shouted Mina. Then she pointed a finger at him, "By the way you're in my seat! So move it!"

Naruto gritted his teeth, as he suddenly felt a surge of annoyance. Then he folded his arms across his chest, and shook his head, "No way! I was here first!"

"I've been a customer here longer than you!" countered Mina.

Naruto brought his hand up, and pointed his thumb to his headband. Then he gave a cheeky smile, "Well, I'm a ninja so it is only logical that I be treated with respect!"

Naruto watched as the younger blond gasped with shock. Then she screamed at the top of her lungs, "There is no way in hell Old Man Hokage made some squirt like you a ninja!"

"Don't yell so loud!" pleaded Naruto as he covered his ears. Then before he could retaliate to her accusation, Ayame had come running out from the back room. Naruto watched as Ayame placed her hands on her hips, and gave Mina a scowl.

"Mina," spoke Ayame with a lecturing tone. Then she continued, "What have I told you about yelling at the top of your lungs? Especially at some stranger?"

Naruto remained stunned at the girl's motherly tone. The girl was two or three years older them himself, and found it odd for a civilian to be so mature.

Mina looked down at her feet, and clenched her fists. She hated disappointing Ayame, but this guy infuriated her for some odd reason. Maybe it was the blond hair, or it was his presence that gave her an uneasy feeling. Ever since she had bumped into the guy, she had been unable to get him off her mind. She then looked up at the boy, and saw Naruto staring at Ayame. Mina narrowed her eyes, and launched herself at Naruto, and slammed her fist into Naruto's face. "Don't stare at Ayame, you pervert."

Naruto was knocked off his seat, and fell onto the ground.

"Mina!"

Naruto looked up, and watched as the little girl stared at him with angered eyes. Before Naruto could get the opportunity to defend himself, he watched as the brown haired girl walked around the counter.

"Mina! You can't be doing that! Apologize!" Ayame told Mina. Mina crossed her arms, and shook her head.

"No way! This guy not only took my seat, but he was staring at you Ayame! He's also pretending to be some hotshot ninja! There is no way some guy only a few years older than me could be a ninja." explained Mina.

Ayame was about to continue the her berating, but Naruto stopped her. Naruto looked at the girl with quite glare.

"Look here _little girl_," said Naruto with a grand emphasis on 'little girl', "first off I'm not some pervert you claim I am. Second I am a shinobi of the this village. Go ahead and ask Lord Third, but I don't see any reason why he would waste his time talking to some monstrous little girl."

That last part had come out unintentional, Naruto hadn't intended to give it a deeper meaning. The instant that the word monstrous had come out, he watched Mina's attitude change completely. As if someone had just killed her puppy. The girl dropped from her seat, and raced out of the ramen noodle shop. Before Naruto was able to register what had happened, he was given a hard shove from Ayame.

"What's your problem?" asked Ayame, after having shoved Naruto the the ground. "I know the girl can be a handful, but why does everyone have to call her a monster?"

"But I didn't mean it with an malicious intent…." spoke Naruto as he tried to defend himself.

He found himself sitting down on the ground. The girl hadn't looked to tough, but Naruto was caught off guard with the fact he had been pushed straight onto his ass. He was know sitting outside of the shop, and the girl was looking down at him. "Do me a favor, and don't come again."

The girl slipped back inside, and into the shop.

"Splash," Naruto heard the small sound of water come from the top of his head.

Naruto brought his hand out. After a moment another drop of water hit his hand. Naruto looked up, and a group of dark angry clouds hovered over konoha. Slowly the stead of the rainfall begun to increase, and soon Naruto was drenched.

Naruto slowly lifted himself up. Then he spoke outloud to himself, "What a bothersome blond…."

Naruto brought his attention to the shop, and silently cursed the ramen girl. He didn't understand why he had just been treated like that...maybe what he said was little over the top. However, it wasn't too over for him to have gotten kicked out of the stupid shop. Naruto looked away from the shop, and took a deep breath.

"I suppose there won't be a next time Shisui, " muttered Naruto as he thought of the promise his friend had made.

A crack of lightning suddenly engulfed the sky night.

**\\./**

Naruto and Itachi stood in the Third Hokage's office. The room was large, and quite empty. If the large piles of paperwork we're to be taken out of the picture, only the pictures of the previous Hokage kept the current Hokage company.

Itachi remained still with his eyes closed as he stood in front of the Hokage patiently. The Hokage remained in his desk filing some minor paperwork. Naruto was standing next to Itachi with a rather impatient look. Naruto took a deep sigh as he looked at as his mentor and the Hokage. They both looked in a state of piece, and it was seriously beginning to wear on Naruto's patience.

"What are we doing here?" asked Naruto abruptly. Itachi slowly opened his eyes, and rolled his eyes to the side. Almost as he had expected Naruto to lose his patience.

Itachi moved his lips to speak, "It will all be explained shortly. Until then wait patiently for our mission brief."

"Mission brief?" questioned Naruto a bit louder. The raise of his voice caused Itachi to startle a little, but he quickly fixed his composure as Naruto continued.

"Why would we receive a mission brief for a D-rank mission inside the Hokage's office?" inquired Naruto.

The Third Hokage who had watched the entire ordeal gave a pleasant smile. Then he spoke, "It's because this is no D-rank mission. What I will be entrusting your 3-men squad today will be a B-rank mission."

The moment that B-rank left the Hokage's mouth a large smile formed on Naruto's face. However, the smile on the Third Hokage had disappeared, and was replaced with a stern face.

"However, your third member has yet to arrive. I need you to show patience Naruto, at the moment you have me questioning if you are ready for such a heavy assignment. You are only 8 after all." informed the Third.

Naruto bit his lip at the jab from the Third Hokage, but he knew the Third didn't mean any ill intentions. Naruto replied, "I apologize Lord Third. I will patiently wait for our third member."

Itachi looked at Naruto and gave small smile The kid was without a doubt something else. His eyes darted to the door, and his smile grew a bit bigger.

"_It seems like you won't have to wait for long, Naruto.'_ thought Itachi, as a knock was heard on the door.

The hokage shouted to let the person at the door to come in. Both Naruto and Itachi looked back to watch a 15 year old boy walk in. He wore a the normal konoha attire with a chunin vest. He had jet black hair that extended to his neck. His forehead protector acted as a hairband and held his hair back. His skin was naturally tan, and a scar was present on the side of his neck. Naruto watched carefully as the boy bowed to Itachi and Naruto.

"I am Takeshi Mori, and I apologize for my late arrival." spoke the teen. Naruto rose an eye at the man's formality. At first glance he had expected the adolescent to be a bit cocky.

Itachi bowed down as well, and was about to speak when he paused. He extended his arm, and placed it on Naruto's head. He then forced Naruto to give a bow as well. Naruto cursed Itachi silently as Itachi spoke, "I'm Itachi Uchiha, and this is my subordinate Naruto Uzumaki. Your late arrival is no issue, so please do not worry about it."

Naruto smacked Itachi's hand out of the way, "I can introduce myself, Itachi. The name's Naruto Uzumaki."

The Third Hokage gave a smile at Itachi and Naruto's antics. Both of the boy's were extremely young for the line of work they were doing. He was glad they we're starting to form some type of relationship. He cleared his throat loudly to grab their attention."Now that we done introductions we will begin the mission brief."

The three shinobi turned silent, and listened closely to what the Hokage had to say. Then the Third Hokage begun to explain the details of the mission, "Last night an unknown shinobi managed to intercept a very important scroll that was on it's way here from an allied nation. The shinobi was tracked down by ANBU Black Ops near the border of Rain and Fire. However, he was killed in the process of bringing him down, and the scroll was lost. We know for a fact that the enemy shinobi hid the scroll somewhere near the border."

The Third Hokage paused, and reached for something under his desk. He then pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. He unrolled the paper, and motioned the three shinobi to come over. Naruto, Itachi, and Takeshi moved to the Hokage. He then pointed to the area he was referring to, "We do not know who our current enemy is, and even though the enemy shinobi was near the border of rain. He could of very well been from the Village Hidden in the Rocks. I wouldn't be surprised if they sent reinforcements to find the scroll."

The Third looked up at the group of shinobi, "ANBU Black ops has been stationed around the area in which the scroll could be. They will keep any foreign shinobi from entering the area. Your team will be tasked with searching this part of the suspected area."

The Hokage had pointed to an a shadowed area on the map. "Your team will be tasked for a three-day search. I have appointed your team the farthest from the border, but if enemy ninja was to come searching for the scroll. Then don't be surprised to have to engage in battle."

"You're expected to leave in two hours max. Dismissed!" exclaimed the Third.

"Yes, sir!"

**\\./**

Naruto, Itachi, and Takeshi move silently through the footsteps gave a quiet echo, the only sound that could be heard from the Konoha ninja had gathered their own backpacks, and had opted to move quickly to complete their mission. Itachi led the small team with Naruto and Takeshi right behind him. Naruto would occasionally give Takeshi a few glances, not sure of what to make of the young ninja. He was older than both him and Itachi, but not to older. It made Naruto wonder, what the ninja must be thinking of having to work with two brats. Not to mention Itachi had been made captain of the group.

"We'll be coming to a stop shortly." spoke Itachi, not once looking back. Naruto and Takeshi did not say anything in return.

Itachi jumped under a branch, and Naruto and Takeshi landed in a very small clearing. When Itachi arrived, he turned around and crouched down. Takeshi and Naruto copied Itachi movements, and soon they were huddled up. Itachi pulled out a scroll from his backpack, and unrolled it on the ground. It was a map with details on the area they we're suppose to scavenge.

"The area consists of two different types of geographical environments. We have the forest, and one side of a mountain to search. I will search the forest, while you two will search the mountain side." ordered Itachi.

Naruto was quick to speak out, "Why are you the only one venturing out on your own? Wouldn't it be more efficient if all of us split up?"

"He has a point." briefly added Takeshi.

Itachi looked at Naruto and Takeshi, "The forest around here used to belong to the Uchiha clan, therefore I know the area the best. The mountainside is a different story. I thought it would be best if two people were to search that area."

"That seems reasonable enough," concluded Takeshi. Naruto had been caught off by how quick he was to accept the situation. Everything about the teen gave Naruto the wrong vibes.

"Fine," replied Naruto as he took a deep breath. Takeshi suddenly stood up, and looked at Naruto.

Takeshi rose his voice, "Naruto, I believe it would be best if we leave now. I think it would be best if we regroup at sundown at rendezvous point B."

Itachi and Naruto looked down at the map, and noticed it was an open area located where the forest and mountainside met. Itachi nodded, and replied, "That looks like the best option."

Itachi looked at Naruto, and Takeshi, "Good luck, and be careful Naruto."

Before either Naruto or Takeshi could reply Itachi jumped onto a tree branch, and disappeared into the direction of the forest.

Naruto stared at where Itachi had stood, and gave a confused look. He had only known Itachi for a while, but he was never the one to single someone out. Why hadn't he told Takeshi to be careful too?

"Naruto, let's go." said Takeshi as he broke Naruto from his thoughts. Naruto looked at the black haired kid, and nodded. Takeshi jumped to the trees, and Naruto followed. Jumping from tree to tree Naruto stared at the back of Takeshi's head.

"_Maybe Itachi's gotten soft on me?'_ thought Naruto for a moment, a tick mark gathered on his head, "_Does that bastard not think I'm capable of taking care of myself!"_

The idea made Naruto's head swell with anger.

**\\./**

It was a little past midday now. They had left the village early in the morning, it had been cool at the time. Now the summer sun was blazing over the konoha shinobi. Naruto and Takeshi stood on the edge of a cliff. They had been searching for a little over two hours, and had decided to take a break. Naruto looked down at the forest that could be seen from the cliff. It was a beautiful sight that left Naruto astonished. Even though he was born in the Fire Nation, he hardly got the opportunities to venture it.

"You've never been outside the walls of Konoha, have you Naruto?" asked Takeshi suddenly. Naruto looked over at the teen, and noticed he wasn't even looking his way. His gaze was stuck on the same scene Naruto had been looking at.

Naruto shook his head, "I've been in the forest outside of Konoha, but never this far 's quite a breath-taking view. "

Takeshi gave a slight smile, "It's nice to know that even prodigies like you, are still left astonished by some things."

Naruto tensed a little at the word prodigy. He had never liked the word, but that was the label that had been given to him as long as he could remember. In all honesty he hated it. It had been the reason he was unable to make any friends in the academy.

"Takeshi, why did you take this mission with Itachi and I?" asked Naruto, "I thought most people would be bothered by having to work under someone younger than one's self."

Takeshi looked over at Naruto, and rose an eyebrow. He then gave Naruto a grin, "Well, I don't have that kind of issue."

Takeshi paused for a moment, and then continued to answer Naruto's question, "However, I did take this job because you and Itachi."

"What?" asked Naruto.

Takesh gave Naruto a smile, "I was just curious how the infamous Naruto Uzumaki was like. You've gathered the attention of many chuunin, Naruto. It's unheard of a single genin to be taken from the reserve, and be mentored by another shinobi. Most of the time reserves are kept in the reserve until a genin team loses a member."

"Really?" asked Naruto all of a sudden as his eyes never imagined he would be the talk of some chunin. It baffled Naruto to some extent.

"Don't let it get to your head, brat. Trust me….the life of a reserve is a long one at Konoha." replied Takeshi as he ran his fingers through his jet black hair.

"Yo-you where a reserve?" asked Naruto.

Takeshi nodded, "Yeah left the reserve about five years ago, when I was only ten. I suppose you could say I was a bit of a genius, but that didn't matter. Let me tell you something, the road to going up ranks is long and difficult as a reserve."

Naruto watched as Takeshi's eyes narrowed a little, and a hint of sadness could be seen in his eyes. His hand was placed on his neck, and his eyes gazed out into the horizon. Takeshi sighed out loud, "I sometimes wonder if I'm doing the right thing."

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto

Takeshi replied, "Being a ninja for the Hidden Leaf….work is hard, and limits my time. I hardly have any personal time."

"I don't really mind it…..isn't that what it means to be a shinobi?" interrupted Naruto, "Isn't self sacrifice what marks a shinobi?"

Takeshi looked down at Naruto for a moment, and looked away, "I used to think the same brat….."

Takeshi didn't finish his sentence as he stood up, "I suppose that's been a long enough break."

"_He's just like me…."_ thought Naruto bitterly as he looked up at Takeshi.

Naruto nodded, and stood up as well, 'Let's go."

**\\./**

Naruto and Takeshi we're running up the side of a cliff, when Naruto spotted something out of the corner of his eye.

"Takeshi," shouted Naruto. Naruto then jumped away from their course, and landed near a tree. The lone tree grew off the side of a cliff, thus it's branches hanged dangerously over the cliff. At the very end of the tree lay a branch, with a shuriken shaped as a manji symbol embedded into the branch.

Takeshi landed near Naruto, and Naruto pointed at the shuriken, "That's not a shuriken used by the hidden leaf, bit odd don't you think."

Takeshi didn't respond right away. Naruto looked at Takeshi, and rose an eyebrow. Had he just felt a spike of chakra come from Takashi? His face look one bit unaffected, he looked rather calm….too calm.

"So? We've seen plenty of shuriken here and there. It might of been one from some training session, or a small battle between ninja.'

Naruto looked up at Takeshi and shook his head, "No, look around. There isn't a shuriken anywhere else in sight."

Naruto then pointed at the shuriken, "As well look at the metal. The shuriken looks practically brand new. In fact I bet you it's only been here a few days."

Takeshi suddenly asked with a hint of annoyance and anger, "So? What good does a lousy shuriken do us? We're looking for a scroll, not a damn shuriken."

Naruto had ignored him. This shuriken looked way out of place for it to be normal. It must be some sort of sign. Naruto jumped on the lone branch, and walked closer to the shuriken. The shuriken was in the shape of a swastika or a maka character. Usually shuriken like these won't have a hole in the middle. However this one did.

"What are you doing Naruto?" asked Takeshi.

Naruto didn't reply, when an idea suddenly struck him. He bent his neck to the side, and gazed through the hole of the shuriken. When he looked through he couldn't see nothing but the blue sky. Naruto brought his head up, and looked through the other side. His eyes widen as he ended up gazing at a pile of debris on a trial up the mountain debris looked unnatural, almost as if someone had fixed them into position. Naruto paused for a trail the debris was on. It was the very same trail that Takeshi had said was too dangerous for anyone to go up….

"Sometimes being a genius isn't the greatest of things to be…..",croaked Takeshi voice.

Naruto felt a chill go down his spine as he heard the sound of Takeshi's voice. Without even realizing it his legs wrapped themselves around the branch, and he swung himself down. The moment he swung down like a monkey, he watched as Takeshi ran right through where he had been. His hands jerked forward….their was no mistake of it now. Takeshi was the enemy.

Naruto placed his hands on a branch, and he swung his legs off the branch. He tried to swing a kick at Takeshi, but all he managed was to get him to jump off the branch and back to the cliff. Takeshi pulled out a kunai with paper bombs, and launched it at the tree's base. Naruto instinctively looked down, and saw it was at least a 200 feet drop to the ground. With all his strength he swung off the branch, and launched himself off the branch and towards the edge of the cliff.

"BOOM!"

The explosion detached the tree from the cliff, and sent it flying. Luckily for Naruto the explosion's force had given Naruto the extra push to reach the barely managed to grab the edge, and for the first time thanked god for being so small. He then climbed back onto the cliff, and onto the mountain side.

He hadn't been on his feet for more than a second, when Takeshi had launched himself at Naruto. Naruto instinctively pulled out a kunai, and blocked Takeshi's attacked. Takeshi and Naruto exchanged a few swipes with the kunai, when Takeshi suddenly pulled out some shuriken and launched them at Naruto. Naruto pulled out his own shuriken, and sent them flying to meet Takeshi's.

The moment that the shuriken hit each other, Takeshi ran under the hail of shuriken and engaged Naruto in taijutsu. Naruto gritted his teeth as the much older and stronger Takeshi managed to get the hand in the fight. Takeshi's blows were quick and decisive, and didn't throw in any fakes. It was an odd taijutsu style not taught in Konoha. Naruto cringed as Takeshi launched a kick right at his face. He brought up his hands to block the kick, but the sheer force of the kick sent him flying towards the mountain. His back slammed into the mountain, and causing dirt and patches of grass to fly all over the place. Pain shot through Naruto's back as he clenched his teeth.

"Why…." uttered Naruto as he looked at Takeshi. He didn't get any opportunity to ask a question. Takeshi flung a numerous amount of kunai at Naruto. Naruto flashed through some hand seals. Then the kunai slammed into Naruto, only for him to be replaced with a small cloud of smoke.

Takeshi's eyes widen, and he spun around. Naruto stood across Takeshi with a kunai in his hand. Takeshi took a step back as the look in Naruto's eyes had changed. No longer where the eyes of confusion, and disbelief present in his eyes. Naruto's blue eyes were calm, but Takeshi could see something dangerous behind those eyes. Just like the sea right before a storm hits.

"Who the hell are you? Why betray the hidden leaf village? Wh-, " Naruto took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself, "Why?"

Takeshi looked at Naruto in the eye, and he suddenly left out a hysterical laugh, "Are you kidding me?! Why? Why the hell should I tell you?"

Naruto gritted his teeth, "I understand why you would be tired of Konoha's system, but I don't see why that would be enough of a motive to betray the leaf. I knew something was off about you, but even know I don't understand why."

"Oh really you can understand? Please the son of the Yondaime has no reason to tell me what it means to be on the receiving end of Konoha's harsh reality." growled Takeshi.

Naruto's calm demeanor had suddenly snapped. His eyes widen in confusion and utter shock, "What the hell are you talking about? I'm not the son of the Yondaime. He died young, and didn't have any children."

Takeshi lashed out at Naruto, "Shut the fuck up! Stop acting stupid. I've been spying on the leaf for three years, and I know for a fact you are the Yondaime's son. You might keep it a secret from the rest of Konoha, but I know the truth."

Naruto took a step back, as his eyes narrowed in disbelief, "_There's no way… if I was the Yondaime's son surely the Third would have told me….I wouldn't have been alone like I had been."_

"You're lying….it's not true, " croaked Naruto in denial.

Takeshi took a deep breath, and calmed himself. He looked at the broken Naruto, and let out a smile, "So you really didn't know you we're the son of the Yellow Flash. Oh well, that doesn't change the fact I'm going to kill you. I'm sure all of Iwa will treat me as a hero once I officially defect."

Naruto looked at Takeshi, and took a deep breath to control himself as Takeshi continued, "I'm also sure the Kyuubi will also be happy to be rid of you."

Naruto's breathing had eased, and he entered a fighting stance, "The Kyubi?"

"You know the blond jinchuuriki girl." replied Takeshi, "I think her name was Minako Uzumaki…."

Takeshi let out a smile of satisfaction as he watched Naruto drop to his knees. He had broken the boy. Naruto's hand shook as he recalled the blond girl….she was a jinchuuriki? Is that why she had reacted the way she did back then? Is that why the girl was so close to the sandaime? Did she knew his true identity? Is that why she hated him?

"For such a genius I'm surprised you didn't know all of this. It's a shame that you must learn all of this before I kill you." taunted Takeshi as he started to wave some hand seals. **"Earth Release: Mud Dragon"**

A million questions swarmed in Naruto's head, but the moment he looked up at the mud dragon. He knew he had to act. He pulled out a smoke bomb, and detonated it in his hand. He was quickly covered in a cloud of smoke.

The mud dragon slammed into the smoke cloud, and the cloud of smoke dispersed by the impact of the dragon. Naruto was gone. Takeshi released his hold on the mud dragon, when he saw a barrage of shuriken thrown at him. He jumped to the side only to be greeted by Naruto. Naruto pulled out a kunai, and his finger was placed on top of his hand. Takeshi watched as Naruto slid his finger across his hand and kunai, then attacked. Takeshi brought up his own kunai, and met Naruto's attack. Then to his dismay he watched as Naruto's kunai slammed through his.

Takeshi's small slip up was enough for Naruto. Naruto enhanced his speed by pulling off a small shunshin to get underneath Takeshi's arms. He then brought up his kunai encased in wind chakra, and slammed it into Takeshi's chest.

"Cough"

Naruto felt a warm liquid drip onto his head. Naruto looked up and blood dripped from Takeshi's mouth. Naruto eyes shook for a sec, realizing he had just killed Takeshi. Naruto closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He was about to pull out the kunai, when he felt Takeshi grip his hand, "If-if I'm going to d-die, then-then you're com-coming with me."

Naruto tried to pull away, but Takeshi's grip was like iron. It was simply impossible for Naruto to break away with his bare hands. He then watched as Takeshi pulled out several paper bombs, "Iwa will be here soon to retrieve the scroll. I'll make sure no one interferes."

Naruto ignored what he had said, but stared at the paper bombs in Takeshi's hand.

"_I'm going to die…."_

Something snapped in Naruto, his body moved without command. He suddenly let out a loud shout, and slammed his free hand into Takeshi's face. However Takeshi's grip did not let go, instead the grip got even tighter. Naruto watched as Takeshi formed a hand seal with his other hand.

"_I'm going to die….'_

Naruto felt chakra begun to gather around the bottom of his back. He unconsciously started to mold chakra, and he could feel something begin to grow from his lower back.

"BOOM!"

Naruto closed his eyes.

**\\./**

Naruto opened his suddenly felt his insides hurl. Takeshi's hand was still holding onto his arm…..and only Takeshi's hand was there. Blood dripped from the detached hand, and a golden barrier appeared where the hand was severed. Naruto looked behind him, and saw some golden chains coming out of his back, _"What the hell?"_

The chains wrapped around his feet, and were attached to trees in front of him. It created a single wall barrier that kept him from harm of the explosion. Naruto looked at the barrier, and couldn't believe what he was seeing, "_Who the hell am I?" _

Without warning the barriers begun to fade, and soon enough they disappeared along with the looked forward, and a pool of blood was all that was left. Naruto was surprised the edge of the cliff hadn't gave through because of the explosion.

Naruto was about to walk away when he felt an electrifying feel run through his body. Naruto's eyes widen in pain, and he gasped for air as he fell to his knees. Soon he was panting for air, and sweat dripped down his forehead. His body felt like a bag of wet sand…..heavy and unable to move. Naruto reached for his pouch, and pulled out a soldier pill. He shoved the pill down his throat, and let himself rest for a second.

"We should have moved in to interfere….know the boy's dead." exclaimed a voice from behind Naruto.

Naruto twirled around, but was unable to get up. He slipped up and fell right onto his butt. Standing in front of him was a group of three ANBU black ops. However, they weren't part of the leaf….but the rock. They wore the same white mask, and black outfit and cloak. It was impossible to tell them apart.

"Oh well, he's long served his purpose. Let's just kill the brat, and go." spoke one of them.

Naruto watched as the third member moved forward, and pulled out a kunai from underneath his cloak. Naruto tossed himself onto his feet, and pulled out his kunai. The iwa nin launched himself forward, and at speeds too fast for Naruto to react he bypassed Naruto's kunai. Then he thrust his kunai into Naruto's chest.

"**Chidori**!"

Naruto had missed it. He had no idea how he was know falling backwards, and a man stood with spiky silver hair stood in front of him. A ball of very dense lightning chakra in his hand was in the man's hand, and that hand pierced through Iwa shinobi's heart.

Naruto hit the ground hard, and his head slammed into the ground. Then in a few seconds a shadow loomed over him. He looked up to see an Leaf ANBU standing over him.

"Shit! Leaf's ANBU!"

Naruto looked up and watched as the Iwa nin pulled back, and begun to retreat. The mystery silver haired ANBU member suddenly chased after them with another pair of ANBU. The ANBU standing above him looked down at Naruto. Naruto's eyes had begun to slowly shut, as the toll of the fight had begun to dawn on Naruto's seven year old body. The ANBU reached for his radio, "Prep a medic team. I have a genin with mild to severe chakra exhaustion. Injuries to the body seem to be minimal."

Naruto could feel his conscious slowly fade, but he brought the will to grab the ANBU's arm, "The…..scr….scroll is located on an abandoned trail leading up to the mountain's steeper side."

Then Naruto let go of the ANBU's arm, and collapsed.

**\\./ 1 week later**

Naruto was walking down Konoha's busiest market. It was midday, and the street had basically come alive. Merchants shouted out trying to grab the attention of any nearby bystanders. Trying to lure in customers with promising deals on glorious objects and items. Customers walked around quickly trying to get what they needed and out of the bloody crowd.

Naruto on the other hand walked aimlessly, as he merely gazed through the items that the merchants had to offer. He had just been paid generously for the completion of his mission. The Third was rather proud of him for not only having found the scroll, but fighting off the Iwa spy. It had come to a shock of Takeshi's defection for the Third Hokage. According to the Third, Takeshi had been an orphan from the Kyuubi's attack five years ago. Apparently the rumor was that his father was once a shinobi from Iwa, while his mother was only a traveling merchant. That happened to be in Konoha during the Nine Tails attack. To Naruto it had explained Takeshi's hatred of Mina.

"Get the hell out of my shop you, demon!"

The crowd suddenly turned silent, as they all turned to the direction of the shout. Naruto slowly brought his head to the side, and looked over at a shop. The shop sold jewelry. The shop owner was armed with a broom, and towering over a small blond child. Naruto watched as Mina stood up.

"Hey, I was only looking at your shop!" shouted Mina back as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Naruto watched as she looked and pointed at a particular set of jewelry. It was a golden necklace with a piece of emerald shaped as a leaf. It looked like an expensive piece. It would surely catch the attention of any bystander.

"Look here _kid_, if you're not going to say anything then get the hell out of here. I sell to customers, not to pennyless kids."

Mina glared at the man, but it was a sad glare. Almost like her emotions of sadness where stronger than the emotions of anger she was feeling at the moment. Naruto watched as the five year old stood up, and begun to run away. Not uttering a single world. Naruto stared at the back of the girl, and watched as she slowly ran away.

Naruto looked over at the shop, and watched the shop owner go back inside. Soon enough the crowd was brought back to life, and everything returned to normal. Naruto looked up at the Hokage mountain, and looked to the fourth head on the mountain.

In his report he had left out a very important detail, the revelation of his birth parent. He had told the Third of everything he had learned from Takeshi, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to reveal that detail. It hurt him a lot, that he was the son of the Fourth Hokage. He just refused to believe it. There's no way his first seven years of life should of felt like hell. If he really was the son of the Fourth, why was he so alone?

Naruto closed his eyes, and the image of the Mina suddenly popped in his head. However, his life was no where as terrible as that girl. _His Father_….was responsible for making her jinchuuriki. The Third Hokage had made him swear not to say anything, but he was having trouble keeping his emotions in check. He had come to hate the person he had so admired in the academy.

Naruto reopened his eyes, and moved forward. He walked toward the shop, and walked up the front counter. Naruto watched as the shop owner came up to greet him, "Can I help you young man? Could it be that you've lost your mother?"

Naruto felt his eye twitch, and held the urge to punch the man. He shook his head, and cleared his throat to speak.

"I want to buy that." replied Naruto as he pointed at the emerald necklace.

The man looked at Naruto and gave him a dry laugh, "I'm sorry young man, but that necklace is about 50,000 ryo."

Naruto reached into his pouch, and pulled out a bag of money. He dropped it onto the counter, and gave the man an annoyed look, "No problem"

The man rose an eyebrow, and looked at the money then Naruto, "How did you get this much money?"

"I'm a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village." replied Naruto emotionlessly.

Naruto watched as the man gave Naruto a bewildered look, but quickly dropped it. He counted up the money, and gave Naruto his change back. He also handed Naruto the emerald necklace. The man turned around to grab a buisness card, but when he turned around Naruto was gone.

**\\./**

Mina was crouched up in a tree somewhere in the park. The tree overlooked the entire playground so it was a great place to hide when playing hide and seek. That was if anyone ever did play with her. However, this time she was not their to hide from some kid. She was sobbing silently, as she covered her face. She was going to be a shinobi one day, and Old Man Hokage had told her shinobi never cry. She didn't want anyone to see her. She hated the mean villagers always treating her like trash, and calling her names. Why did people hate her so much?

"Your such a crybaby."

The voice had caught Mina by surprise, and she nearly fell of the tree. Sitting in the tree with her was that blond boy...the one that had called her a monster. Nevertheless, that didn't matter. The boy had seen her cry. She moved quickly to wipe her tears, and looked away.

"What the hell do you want?" Minako asked.

Naruto looked at the girl, and took a deep sigh, "I came here to apologize for what I said the other day, I didn't mean to call you a monster."

Mina's eyes widen, and she turned to looked at Naruto. She was at complete disbelief. She then watched as he pulled out an emerald gold necklace. Naruto reached out, and extended her palm. he then placed the necklace into it. He closed her palm, and then looked up at Minako, "Accept it as my apology.''

Naruto then leaned back, and fell of the tree. Mina watched as he did a backflip, and landed on his feet. He then formed a hand seal, and he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The little girl opened her small hands, and looked at the beautiful necklace in her hands. It was the very same one she always saw in that shop. She turned the leaf shape emerald over, and looked at the engraving.

_Property of Minako Uzumaki. _

The name suddenly became blurred with a drop of water. Minako looked up looking for a dark cloud, but realized she was under a tree. There was no way rain could have fallen through. She then brought up her hand to her face, and realized she was crying. She looked back down at the necklace, and let out a smile.

**\\./**

**WOAH! Huge update, hope you enjoy. I know I haven't updated in months, but fear no more. Rookie14 is back! I will be updating my story Kitsune next, and then Guild Master. **

**FAVORITE! FOLLOW! REVIEW!**

_**notes:**_

_**Mina's full name is Minako Uzumaki.**_

_**Mina is five, and so is rest of Rookie 9.**_

_**Naruto is seven close to being 8. **_

_**Itachi disappeared during this mission, but don't fear it will be explained soon! He will make a strong appearance next chapter alongside Shisui and….Izumi? *wink* *wink* to any novel readers out there.**_

Random Poll: Favorite Element?

Water

Earth

Lightning

Wind

Fire

Personal Opinion: It's either wind or lightning. I just find both elements so versatile and bad ass. If I had to choose a third it would be Earth. Water and Fire are cool, but isn't my thing.

P.S: They're won't be any love realtionship between Mina and Naruto. At the moment I have not decided if I'll even do a pairing for Naruto.


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